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Karen Smith was placed on leave from Angevine Middle School

By John Bear

Staff Writer

Posted:
02/13/2018 04:24:43 PM MST

Updated:
02/13/2018 08:50:01 PM MST

Karen Smith (Lafayette Police Department)

The Angevine Middle School teacher under suspicion of assaulting a student who refused to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance earlier this month has been cited for child abuse and assault, Lafayette police confirmed on Tuesday.

Multiple attempts to reach Smith for comment have been unsuccessful. A woman who answered the phone at Smith's home on Tuesday evening told a Camera reporter that Smith was "not available" and hung up. (Attempts to reach the student have also been unsuccessful.)

Smith does not appear to have a criminal record in Colorado, according to online court records, and is due in Boulder County Court at 8 a.m. Feb. 28.

She came to the Lafayette Police Department on Tuesday afternoon, where she was processed and released for one count each of child abuse and third-degree assault, both misdemeanor charges, according to a news release.

On Feb. 1, Lafayette police began investigating an allegation that a juvenile had refused to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance, so a teacher forced the student to his feet by his jacket and removed him from the classroom. The citation issued to Smith states the incident happened at about 9 a.m.

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Lafayette police referred any further requests to the Boulder County District Attorney's Office. Boulder County District Attorney Stan Garnett said that his office worked closely with Lafayette police as they reviewed the case and decided to issue a summons to Smith.

"The defendant is of course presumed innocent," Garnett said. "The case and her liability and culpability will be sorted out through the court process in the coming months."

Boulder Valley School District spokesman Randy Barber said on Tuesday afternoon that the district has learned of the charges. He added that the school district will conduct its own investigation now that the police investigation has concluded.

"We are cooperating with the District Attorney's Office and respect their decision on this matter," Barber said. "We are unable to comment further because it remains a personnel matter that the school district is actively investigating."

It's the practice of the Boulder Valley School District to allow students to sit or stand during the pledge. A 1943 United States Supreme Court decision — the West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette — prohibits state education boards from compelling public school pupils to salute the flag while reciting the pledge.

On Tuesday, the Boulder chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People met with BVSD Interim Superintendent Cindy Stevenson and Mike Gradoz, assistant superintendent of human resources, to discuss a variety of issues.

Barber and the NAACP said that the meeting was prompted by the incident at Angevine Middle School, but the conversation was broader in scope and involved, in part, the concept of equity among the diverse population at the school district.

"It was very concrete," chapter President Robert Stuart said. "We are going to meet again. The superintendent and the person in charge of human relations seemed to hear everything we said."

Stuart declined to discuss the specific concerns that the NAACP brought to the table for fear of undermining progress, but he said the conversation included concerns about "structural issues" present in BVSD that led to the alleged incident at Angevine Middle School.

Stuart said a parent of a child in the class described the alleged victim as being Hispanic, but he didn't have any more information regarding the identity of the child and has not spoken with the child's family.

Barber said he couldn't discuss the student's ethnicity. The citation issued to Smith lists her race and ethnicity as white.

Stuart added that district officials discussed a newly-formed "equity committee" that provides training in the district at the schools and for the teachers, and the NAACP stressed that training is also important for white administrators at schools.

Barber said, at least from the perspective of the school district, that the meetings was constructive. Asked if the incident at Angevine had prompted the meeting, he said that was "fair to say" but added that the conversation was wide in scope and not limited to a single incident.

"I would say they came to the table with some concerns, including some recent events, and wanted to share those concerns," he said. "We were happy to meet with them. It's important to hear all the voices in our community."

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